Christopher Irwin Smith

Education

Ph.D., Harvard University, 2003

Teaching Philosophy

Students learn best when they are actively involved in the educational process. As an educator, I strive to engage my students by designing lectures that are dynamic and interactive, and that involve extensive discussion and dialog between students and the instructor. Ultimately, that philosophy transcends the classroom, by involving students in research, and helping them to design independent projects. By undertaking their own research, students gain independence from the instructor and become the architects of their own education. By the time they graduate, my students should have a curiosity about the natural world, grounding in the fundamental concepts in biology, and the skills to sustain intellectual growth as biologists throughout their lives.

Research Interests

My work examines the role of ecological processes in shaping evolutionary patterns over both microevolutionary and macroevolutionary time. I am particularly interested in exploring ecological and evolutionary questions in the context of interactions between plants and insects. Much of my work relies on coalescent and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data and simulated datasets, but I also incorporate many traditional methods in field ecology. More details about my research can be found on my lab web page.